Green is Go

The annual plant sale and open day at Cornwall Air Ambulance raised the most yet from this type of event at the charity’s Newquay headquarters.

More than £3000 was raised at Sunday’s event through plant sales, a pop-up charity shop, a popular teddy tombola, a raffle and donations for tea and cake.

Organiser Gemma Kidd is delighted. She said: “It was a hugely successful day that raised funds for the running costs of the air ambulance. The public always enjoy meeting the crew and seeing the helicopter up close but the plants for sale were extremely popular. We are so grateful to the host of local nurseries and garden centres who donated such a variety of high quality plants and to the team of volunteers who helped the day run so well.”

The local supporters for the event were Blackacre Nurseries, Bodmin Plant & Herb Nursery, Brooks Nursery & Garden Centre, Burncoose Nurseries, Carnon Downs Garden Centre, Cedar Croft Plants, Chacewater Garden Centre, Duchy of Cornwall Plant Nurseries, Falmouth Garden Centre, Homeleigh Garden Centre, Kernock Park Plants, Lanjeth Plant Nurseries, Lower Trenowth Farm, Rising Sun Nurseries, The Cornish Rose Company, Trelawney Garden Leisure, Treseders Wall Cottage Nursery, Trevena Cross Nurseries, Trevenson Moor Garden Centre, Trevisker Garden Centre, Trewithen Plant Centre, Wyevale Garden Centre Hayle and Wyevale Garden Centre Par.

Visitors were able to watch the air ambulance in action twice during the day. In the morning the paramedic aircrew helped a woman who had fallen on rocks in a difficult to access area near Bude and flew her to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. In the afternoon they treated a man suffering a severe allergic reaction in the Bodmin area before flying him to Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro.

Since the charity receives no government funding for the £3 million running costs, Cornwall Air Ambulance relies upon the generosity of the public and local companies to continue its lifesaving work.